This Friday, July 12 Brooklyn’s Black Taxi will be putting on a heck of a homecoming show - as riveting, energetic, and raucous as they got us used to. After a tour that took them down the east coast, through the south and back, the dance-groove driven rock quartet headlines Bowery Ballroom. Earlier this year, the band spent two months in Austin writing and recording new material and emerged with their newest single, “House on Fire” (streming below). Also joining Friday’s party are Albany’s soul-tinged rock ‘n rollers, The Wild Adriatic, and Austin’s folksy-pop trio, Marmalakes. - Meijin Bruttomesso

Deli-rious beings,

In our insanely convoluted (but SUPERBLY accurate) system governing our Year End Poll for Emerging NYC Artist, our writers have a rather influential vote. Here are the results of this specific poll (top 3 positions only).

Quite unexpectedly, indie guitar-pop trio Skaters (pictured) took home the gold (the band is currently recording their debut LP, needless to say we are looking forward to it!), with the silver going to electro-pop masters St. Lucia and 10 bands getting a sliver of bronze.

BEST OF 2012 FOR EMERGING NYC ARTISTS - DELI WRITERS' POLL RESULTS -

ARTIST VOTES   1 Skaters 4 2 St. Lucia 3 3 Ambassadors 2   Anya Skidan 2   Black Taxi 2   Clementine & The Galaxy 2   Foxygen 2   Hot Sugar 2   Life Size Maps 2   Spirit Family Reunion 2   The Stationary Set 2   Turkuaz 2

Final results out on Monday!!!!

The Deli's Staff

The entire universe often wonders what the difference is between Alt Rock and Indie Rock. Here at The Deli we call "Alt" that kind of Rock music that's inspired to a more classic concept of Rock'n'Roll or Pop-Rock, or any rock genre that was commercially successful before the aughts - think about bands reminiscent of anything from Led Zeppeling to Aerosmith, Weezer or Nirvana. While Indie Rock tends to be a little more experimental and dark, Alt Rock is (at least in our vocabulary) more traditional and a little more accessible - without being just "pop".

Total submissions in this category: 38

Artists Qualified to the Poll's Next Stage (starting around 01.15):

1. Apollo Run - 7.66 (out of 10)
2. BLACK TAXI - 7.33

Honorable Mentions (scores above 6.5):

Outernational, Late Cambrian, Viva Mayday, Wyldlife, Only Living Boy, Von Shakes, Raccoon Fighter, The Clox, Noble Hunter.

Jurors: Michelle Turner (Deli Nashville), Brandi Lukas (Deli Contributor), QD Tran (Deli Philly) 

The Deli's Staff

If you haven't seen Black Taxi live yet, then think about all the time you spent watching crappy films last year... for your own good, this band is here to show you a way out of this mess. This group belongs to an oft-ignored genre of music known as 'Punchy Cinematic Rock,' and seeing the band live is like watching performance art, a jukebox musical, and every single Nicholas Cage movie at once (so you don't have to). In other words, this band isn't afraid to try everything and get caught in the act looking good in tight costumes. Their new record 'We Don't Know Any Better' covers territories from punk, to 4 on floor dance, to orchestral synth pop jazz... whatever that is. Check out 2nd single 'Hand' (streaming below) from new record 'We Don't Know Any Better' to get a feel for what you've been missing in their new POV video, and see the band yourself when they play at Public Assembly on Saturday, Jan 26th. - Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

The penultimate day of my fourth SXSW was definitely the longest in my history of SX’s. Arriving at 10:30am at the Elvis Presley-themed Beale Street Tavern to host a show, I was out on the town for 16 hours to follow. Opening the morning, Austin’s Indie-meets-retro rock quartet, Ghost Bunny, and solo, blues-rock multi-instrumentalist and loop-master, Walker Lukens, got the ball rolling. Most attendants woke up and arrived for a bevy of Brooklyn bands: Black Taxi, The Courtesy Tier, and The Click Clack Boom. The string of East Coasters was broken by LA- born Vas Defrans (pictured), who put the sound system to the test with pounding drums and intricate instrumental layering. A laid back local favorite, The Naturals, contrasted with the strobe- light and projection illuminated, electro/dance-rock quartet, Kid Savant who followed suit. NYC’s Hollis Brown closed the afternoon with straight up great blues rock and Southern rock sentiments. Yet another Tex-Mex decompression resuscitated me for an extensive evening of street performances. Renegade rocker, Tom Morello, brought the aggressive music of Black Top Demon, Outernational, Anti-Flag, and Wayne Kramer outside the Swan Dive as part of Occupy SXSW. Morello himself marched into the crowd of hundreds for a finale while police swarmed the area. All ended without any blood shed, but it was an night/early morning to remember! –Meijin Bruttomesso